IPSTDS Chapter 98

Chapter 98

The scar on Seo Dowoong’s forehead must have been from the incident Nahyuk had seen in the dream. Nahyuk slowly pieced together the words Seo Dowoong had just said.

“Wait… so when you said you didn’t think of me as a friend, you didn’t mean I was nothing at all—you meant you saw me not as a friend but as someone you liked?”

“You’ve understood exactly.”

“Then I wasn’t just some obedient mutt to you?”

“Up until recently, that’s how I saw you. But if you’re asking about before that, no. Back then you were a friend—and then someone I liked.”

“…”

Nahyuk carefully arranged the pieces of the dream alongside Seo Dowoong’s words.

It seemed likely that the reason Yoon Noah had grown resentful toward Seo Dowoong in high school had been a misunderstanding.

Of course, it was possible Seo Dowoong was lying, saying what was convenient so as not to make him resentful now.

Yet strangely, there was no sense of falsehood about him.

He wore an expression of sincerity, and even if Nahyuk pressed for more, it seemed he would answer without hesitation.

“Then after what happened at the warehouse, how did you treat me?”

“I don’t know why you’re bringing up the past now, but if you really want to know, I’ll tell you. At the time, I couldn’t forgive you, so I avoided you. But I never said cruel things to you, nor did I tell anyone you were involved.”

“…”

“That was the most I could do back then. By shutting you out, I realized you had teamed up with trash like Park Sangcheol. In a way, I thought that was partly my fault too.”

Surprisingly, at those words, fragments of the past began to resurface in Nahyuk’s mind—the face of Yoon Noah, always watching Seo Dowoong’s reaction nervously until graduation.

“But back then, when all I did was avoid you, you didn’t know the real reason. Why I really ignored you when you hung around Park Sangcheol.”

Wasn’t it simply because he had been disgusted?

Judging from the dream, Seo Dowoong’s pride had been wounded. He had seemed to despise Noah’s choice to side with someone so low instead of trusting him.

Seo Dowoong must have believed he would have handled things fine on his own, without Noah interfering.

But now he said otherwise—that there had been another reason.

“It was petty jealousy.”

“…What?”

“Even then, I liked you. That’s why I hated seeing you with Park Sangcheol so much.”

With the truth finally out, Nahyuk let out a sigh.

If only Yoon Noah and Seo Dowoong had been a little more honest, their future could have been different—perhaps one where Noah was the protagonist.

All Nahyuk could feel was pity for Noah. If only he hadn’t let himself be swayed by Park Sangcheol…

“But after the warehouse incident, I lost all affection for you. And then, when we met again years later, you showered me with affection as if you had forgotten everything.”

He hadn’t forgotten. In the original story, Yoon Noah would sometimes recall the untold past and show his unease.

Another weary sigh slipped out, as if it had become habit.

The flood of truths left Nahyuk’s head aching. He longed to return to familiar ground and rest.

But before that, he had to contact Kangil and Daon, who were surely waiting to hear from him.

He began searching belatedly for his phone.

“Where’s my phone?”

“Are you leaving?”

“…Yeah. I want to rest at home. Let’s talk again after I’ve slept a little.”

Nahyuk tried to rise from Seo Dowoong’s bed, but the moment he did, Seo Dowoong grabbed his wrist tightly.

“No. Not yet.”

“Let go.”

“There’s something I still haven’t heard from you.”

“What is it?”

Seo Dowoong repeated the words he had spoken in the café.

“Love me again.”

“That’s…”

He cut him off, forcing the words.

“If you don’t love me, I can’t protect Kim Daon. I mean it.”

“Seo Dowoong, you’re really awful. Didn’t you say you had good feelings toward Kim Daon apart from all this? And yet you’re using him to threaten me?”

“I don’t think badly of Daon even now.”

“Then why are you doing this to him?”

One corner of Seo Dowoong’s mouth lifted. He sneered, as if mocking Nahyuk for even asking.

“Because I like you that much. I can’t stand to watch Yoon Noah clinging to anyone else.”

“…”

“It’s the truth I’ve realized the hard way. I won’t repeat the same mistakes of the past.”

Though his smile was sharp, there was something strangely sorrowful about his face.

It was as though regret lingered there, as if he too was admitting he regretted the past.

“Be honest with me. You’re not really seeing Lee Kangil, are you?”

“I…”

There was no denying they shared mutual attraction, but it wasn’t real love. Nahyuk, who wasn’t good at lying, had no energy left to think of an excuse.

Just then, the phone began to vibrate.

Contrary to what Seo Dowoong had said about hiding it somewhere impossible to find, the phone was sitting right on the bedside table.

Nahyuk made to walk toward the phone that buzzed endlessly.

But the moment he took a step, Seo Dowoong yanked him back by the wrist.

“That hurts, Seo Dowoong.”

“I said you could go after you answered me.”

“…I like Kangil.”

It was the most honest thing Nahyuk could say.

“I know you’ve got feelings for Lee Kangil. But it’s only because he was nice to you for a while. You’re the kind of person who easily falls for anyone who treats you well.”

“Fine, everything you say might be right. But the truth is, no matter what you say, my feelings won’t change. If only you’d confessed when we were younger. That would’ve been better.”

If that had happened, Kim Daon would never have been dragged into any of this, and maybe Seo Dowoong and Yoon Noah could have been happy together.

Or at least, if he’d said it before Nahyuk had possessed Noah’s body, things would have been different. Then Noah wouldn’t have cried so pitifully in the original story.

But it was only wishful thinking—time couldn’t be rewound.

“As for Daon, I’ve heard your opinion. I’ll discuss it with him again. Maybe you’ve forgotten, but Kangil and I come from families as powerful as yours. We’ll figure something out. So stop using him to threaten me.”

If it came to it, he could even ask Yoon Taesik or Jang Mi-ae for help.

Even though Jang Mi-ae had long abandoned Noah, she might agree to such a request—though it would surely come with her own conditions.

Nahyuk was willing to endure even something harmful to his own health if it meant protecting Daon. He knew too well how horrifying it was to be outed against one’s will.

“You’ll regret this.”

“You’re the one who’ll regret it. Every second that passes, I hate you more.”

“Noah…”

Seo Dowoong’s grip weakened at the sound of Noah’s name spoken in that irritated voice. Nahyuk used that moment to wrench free from his shackles and grabbed the phone off the table.

On the screen, several missed calls from Lee Kangil and Kim Daon had piled up.

He had bragged that he would settle things with Seo Dowoong himself and told them to stay away, but now hours had passed without contact. They must have been frantic.

He needed to get out of Seo Dowoong’s home and call them right away…

“—!”

Just as he rose halfway, his body was dragged back.

Thrown down roughly onto the bed, he couldn’t resist the brute force.

A small cry slipped from his lips but was swallowed immediately—by Seo Dowoong’s mouth.

Seo Dowoong’s lips crashed onto his, trapping his breath. He pressed Nahyuk down with his body, caging him so he couldn’t move an inch.

“Mmph…!”

It felt as if his whole body was pinned beneath a crushing weight.

One hand pinned both of Nahyuk’s wrists, the other cupped his cheeks, leaving no room for struggle.

Seo Dowoong’s hot tongue slipped naturally between his lips.

The merciless kiss suffocated him. It was nothing like Kangil’s sweet, tender kisses—it was overwhelming, suffocating.

Nahyuk thought he couldn’t just let this happen.

Just as Seo Dowoong’s hand began tugging up his shirt, Nahyuk bit down hard on his tongue. A strange sense of déjà vu rippled through him.

The kiss broke for a brief second.

“S-Seo… mmph—”

But Seo Dowoong dove back in, lips crushing his again as if refusing to back down. The metallic taste of blood spread in his mouth.

When Seo Dowoong’s cold hand slid beneath his lifted shirt, touching bare skin, goosebumps rose across Nahyuk’s body, shocking his hazy mind awake.

He raised his free hand and slapped Seo Dowoong’s cheek with all his strength. The sharp sound rang through the room.

Only then did the storm of kisses stop.

Nahyuk quickly wriggled out from under him and got off the bed. His legs trembled, making his steps unsteady, but he couldn’t stop walking.

Behind him, the sound of footsteps followed. Nahyuk practically ran to the front door, threw it open—

And at the same moment, Seo Dowoong’s hand caught his wrist again.

“Wait.”